Judy Biggert

Mrs. BIGGERT

Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time to close.

Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 370) recognizing and honoring Walter Payton and expressing the condolences of the House of Representatives to his family on his death.

Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on House Resolution 370.

Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Resolution 370, which recognizes and honors Walter Payton and expresses the condolences of the House of Representatives to his family on his death; and I want to thank the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Pickering) for introducing this important resolution. We are here today to honor the life of Walter Payton, number 34 for the Chicago Bears. The tragic and all too early end to his life November 1 cannot obscure his greatness, not just as a football player but as a human being. It is not just his eight NFL records, from career rushing yards to number of 1,000 yard rushing seasons to yards gained in a game. It is not just his 28 Chicago Bears' records. The Bears often had great individuals. Walter Payton meant so much more to the team than just individual statistics. I still remember attending the 1963 NFL championship game in Chicago where the Bears beat the New York Giants 14 to 10. Unfortunately, this would be the last time any of us would see the Bears in the playoffs, that is until Walter Payton arrived. He began to carry the Bears with his work ethic, determination, and relentless pursuit of excellence. Sometimes it seemed that he was the only weapon the Bears had. And, finally, he led the Bears back up to the top in Super Bowl XX in 1986. Over the years that Walter Payton played, Chicago saw a renaissance in its sports teams. The White Sox and the Cubs made the playoffs, and Michael Jordan began to take the Bulls to the top. But Walter Payton was the first and the brightest, and the Bears owned Chicago because of him. More importantly, Walter Payton made his mark off the football field in a way that few athletes do. In truth, he gave back to Chicago more than Chicago could ever have given to him. He coached high school basketball, read to children in literacy programs, and made significant charitable contributions during and after his NFL career. His Walter Payton Foundation funds educational programs and helps countless abused and neglected children throughout the country. He was a successful businessman, always open to new ventures, from his restaurants to an Indy car racing team. But perhaps, most importantly, he was a successful father and husband. When his daughter Brittney joined his wife Connie in accepting the Life Award for him at the Arete Courage in Sports awards in late October, and when his son Jarrett addressed the media 2 weeks ago, we could see the same poise in them that the world saw in Walter Payton. Lucky are those whose lives were touched by this special man. Like most Chicagoans, I feel that somehow I knew Walter Payton; that he was one of us and we were better off for that. To his wife Connie, his son Jarrett, his daughter Brittney, and to all his friends, we are proud to send the Nation's condolences, and to remind them how much Walter Payton meant to the American people. His sweetness remains with us forever. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Pickering), my esteemed colleague and the sponsor of House Resolution 370.

Mrs. BIGGERT

Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 41 to praise the women who have served our Nation's armed forces, and especially those that contributed to the victory of the United States in World War II. All the women who aided in this victory deserve our praise today, but I would like to tell my colleagues about one specific woman, Mrs. Doris Pahls. Doris Pahls grew up in Chicago and, in 1941, the year the United States entered into the Second World War, she enlisted in the U.S. Army. Mrs. Pahls became a nurse. In 1942, she was assigned to her post, a hospital in Belleville, Illinois. There she cared for soldiers who were sent home from the war, soldiers injured so severely they required hospitalization. For 3 years, Mrs. Pahls nursed returning soldiers, giving them far more than medical care. She tended to their injuries, but she also gave them a long-awaited welcome home and listened to their experiences and stories. When the war ended in 1945, Doris Pahls was discharged and returned home to Chicago. She married Louis F. Pahls, who had courted her all through the war, consistently writing her. We did not use the telephone or empty mail at that time. She continued nursing at St. Elizabeth's Hospital until she and her husband had their daughter Marie Pahls Ryan. Anyone who knew Doris Pahls discovered a woman of intense and immense energy, humor, and caring. She did not talk often about herself and her service to the United States. In fact, few knew this sparkling grandmother was part of freedom's troop, a woman of the military. I am sad to say that Doris Pahls passed away last month from cancer. But her service to her country will not be forgotten. When Doris was interred, her daughter received the American flag that draped her casket. Her grandchildren and her great grandchildren heard the sounds of Taps and the firing of rifles, a testament to one of the many women who stood to honor their Nation in its hour of danger.

Mrs. BIGGERT

Mrs. BIGGERT. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the conference report. Many of my colleagues have devoted a good part of their congressional careers to making this bill a reality. As a freshman member of the Committee on Banking and Financial Services, I was privileged to work with them this year to provide a bipartisan bill that will modernize our Nation's banking, insurance, and security industries. Two decades in the making, this bill will allow our Nation's financial institutions, security companies, and insurance industries to successfully compete in the global market. I commend the House and the Senate conferees as well as the administration who were able to work together to approve this legislation. While it may be long overdue, I believe it will be well worth the wait. I congratulate the gentleman from Iowa (Chairman Leach), the gentleman from Virginia (Chairman Bliley), and the gentleman from New York (Mr. LaFalce), the ranking member. I ask all my colleagues to vote for this historic measure, and I urge the President to sign it into law.

Mrs. BIGGERT

Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Barbara Wheeler for her invaluable contributions to the children of DuPage County and the State of Illinois over the past 25 years. Since 1974, Ms. Wheeler has been a dedicated member of the Community High School District Board of Education, DuPage County. She served in leadership roles as president of the school board for 15 years and vice president for 5 years. Throughout her career, she has made it a priority to ensure that the school board sets attainable goals to raise student achievement and to build a consensus among business, educators, and the community at large. Ms. Wheeler is an active board member of the National School Boards Association (NSBA), serving as chair of the NSBA Central Region, a member of the Policies and Resolutions Committee, Secretary-Treasurer and President Elect. She served as President of the NSBA in 1998, when she championed a nationwide campaign to make our schools safer. Besides her extensive work in the educational field, Ms. Wheeler is an energetic and committed community leader. She is a volunteer for the Illinois Department on Aging, George Williams College, the Downers Grove Chamber of Commerce, and the Downers Grove YMCA. An Illinois native, Ms. Wheeler attended St. Dominic College, Northern Illinois University and the DePaul University College of Law. She is an active member of the Chicago and Illinois State Bar Associations and the American Bar Association. She has served as Assistant State's Attorney, Cook County, Illinois, and is in private law practice with the firm Wheeler, Wheeler and Wheeler in Westmont, Illinois. I have had the privilege to know Barbara Wheeler for many years, and greatly respect her for the unwavering commitment she has made to excellence in education. While I can confidently say that the citizens of DuPage County wish her much success in her future endeavors, we must recognize that her wisdom and years of experience will be sorely missed by the school board, as well as by parents and students. DuPage County, the State of Illinois, and our nation are better places because Ms. Barbara Wheeler dedicated a portion of her life to the education of our children.

Mrs. BIGGERT

Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Walter Payton, number 34 for the Chicago Bears. The tragic, and all too early, end to his life on Monday cannot obscure his greatness, not only as a football player, but as a person. He holds eight NFL records, from career rushing yards to number of 1,000 yard rushing seasons to yards gained in a game. He holds 28 Bears records. But the Bears often had great individuals. Walter Payton meant so much more to the team than just individual statistics. I had the privilege of going to the 1963 NFL Championship game in Chicago where the Bears beat the New York Giants 14-10. Unfortunately, that would be the last time any of us would see the Bears in the playoffs until Walter Payton arrived. And he carried the Bears with his work ethic, determination, and relentless pursuit of excellence. Sometimes it seemed that he was the only weapon the Bears had. But, finally, he led the Bears back to the top in Super Bowl XX. Over the time that Walter Payton played, Chicago saw a renaissance in its sports teams--the White Sox and the Cubs were in the playoffs and Michael Jordan was on his way to taking the Bulls to the top. But Walter Payton was the first and the brightest and the Bears owned Chicago because of him. More importantly, Walter Payton made his mark off the football field in a way that few athletes do. In truth, he gave back to Chicago more than Chicago could ever have given him. He coached high school basketball, read to children in a literacy program, and made significant charitable contributions during and after his NFL career, including through the Walter Payton Foundation, which funds educational programs and helps abused and neglected children. He was a successful businessman, always into new ventures, from his restaurants to an Indy car racing team. And clearly, he was a successful father and husband. When his daughter Brittney and wife Connie accepted the Life Award for him at the Arete Courage in Sports awards less than 2 weeks ago and when his son Jarrett addressed the media yesterday, you could see the same poise in them as we saw in Walter. I never had the opportunity to meet Walter Payton personally. But like most Chicagoans, I felt like I somehow knew him, that he was one of us. And we were all better off for that.

Mrs. BIGGERT

Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Resolution 324, supporting National Civility Week. I would like to thank the distinguished chairman of the House Committee on Government Reform, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton), who recognized the importance of this measure and assured its consideration today on the House floor. I also want to express my appreciation to the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) for introducing this important legislation as well. This resolution provides an opportunity for all of us to reflect upon the changing nature of our culture and its increasing lack of civility. In 1998, former Secretary of Education William Bennett and former Senator Sam Nunn of Georgia collaborated on an assessment of our Nation's civic health. After reviewing rates of volunteerism and other forms of civic participation, they concluded that civility among the American people has declined dramatically in recent decades. We do not need to look too far to understand that this lack of civility is permeating our political discussion. In the first papers of The Federalist, the author expressed hope that Americans might establish good government through reflection and choice. In contrast to what later essays in The Federalist would call the heat and violence of faction, the founders hoped that our government would come to reflect the deliberate sense of the community. Too frequently today this body's deliberations represent the violence of faction through partisan posturing. Too often in our deliberations we hear accusations and innuendo. The occasional lack of civility in this body reflects what is happening to our culture in a broader sense. As a society, we have become detached from and, in many ways, no longer honor the traditional codes of civil conduct. Reattaching ourselves to a system that honors decency and promotes common courtesy is one of the most important things we can do. This recognition of National Civility Week, while a small gesture, provides an opportunity to reaffirm the importance of civility in our culture as well as in this body's political deliberations. It can provide additional impetus to the bipartisan congressional retreats we hold each year at Hershey and elevate the quality and civility of our political discussions. I am pleased to have the opportunity to offer this legislation for consideration, and trust that it will draw attention to behaviors and standards that we ought to expect but do not always practice. When I was elected to this body, I pledged to work to restore faith in government through honesty, decency, and personal responsibility. We must hold ourselves to a higher standard, not a lower one, that we expect of other people. I encourage my colleagues to support this resolution. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 324 provides a wonderful opportunity to strengthen the character and manner of our public and political deliberations, as well as to improve the way we treat each other. Congress should seize this opportunity to lead by example. Not only should we pass House Resolution 324, celebrating National Civility Week, but we should provide on a daily basis the examples of civil speech and conduct that contribute to the rule of reason and show the American public that civility does count. I congratulate the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos) for sponsoring this fine legislation. I am proud to bring it to the floor and ask for the full support of all Members on this resolution. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 324) supporting National Civility Week, Inc., in its efforts to restore civility, honesty, integrity, and respectful consideration in the United States.

Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on the resolution under consideration.

Mrs. BIGGERT

Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the rule and of the conference report. The report not only includes funding for the District of Columbia, it also includes more money for education, Pell grants for college students, the NIH, Federal impact aid for local communities, the Ryan White AIDS program, and communities services block grants the administration requested. But I am particularly pleased that the report includes a slightly less than 1 percent cut on new spending including a $1,400 cut to Members of Congress' own pay. Cutting Members' cost-of-living increase tells Federal agencies that they are not alone in holding down costs and says, ``If you have to take a cut, Congress will, too.'' The cut in salary will also bring Members to a level that is more comparable to the Social Security beneficiaries' COLA, further illustrating the Republicans' commitment to preserving Social Security. I congratulate the Republican leadership for funding key programs in this bill and for keeping its word on protecting Social Security. I urge my colleagues to support the rule and the conference report.

Mrs. BIGGERT

Mrs. BIGGERT. I thank the gentleman from Arizona and appreciate the opportunity to join him here tonight to discuss waste, fraud and abuse. Yesterday House Minority Whip Tom Delay and Republican Conference Chairman J.C. Watts gave the American people specific examples of wasteful spending in the Federal Government. These examples included the construction of a $1 million outhouse in Glacier National Park and the Department of Defense misplacement of two tugboats. Continuing with this theme of promoting and advancing better and more efficient government by rooting out waste, fraud and abuse in Federal agencies, I come to the floor this evening to speak about management's problems that permeate the Federal student loan program. American taxpayers currently provide through the Department of Education more than $48 billion annually in Federal finance aid to roughly 8.5 million students. Unfortunately, the Department has serious problems monitoring these dollars and the individuals to whom they are awarded. For almost 10 consecutive years, the General Accounting Office has put the Department of Education on its high risk list for waste, fraud and abuse because of its management shortcomings. Among other things, the GAO has reported that, first, the Department does not adequately oversee schools that participate in student loan programs; second, that the Department uses inadequate management information systems that contain unreliable data; third, that the Department has too little information on the program's effectiveness to meet the information needs of Congress and other decision makers; and, finally, it cannot determine the taxpayer liability associated with almost $150 billion in outstanding student loans. These problems were outlined in a report released earlier this year by the Department's own Inspector General. The Department's Inspector General found that the Department of Education has forgiven over $3.8 million in loans to individuals who were reported dead, but in fact were alive. The Department's Inspector General also found that roughly $73 million in loans were forgiven to individuals who claimed to be permanently disabled when in fact they were not. That is what I call fraud. Congress and the Department have taken steps to correct problems in this program by creating the Federal Government's first performance- based organization within the Office of Student Financial Assistance. While I applaud this effort and recognize the progress made by the Department, problems persist. A recent Associated Press article outlined errors made by the Department on 3.5 million college financial aid forms, 100 of which were distributed to colleges across the country. Fixing this problem, which included recalling, destroying and reprinting these forms, will cost the American taxpayer another $480,000, a half a million dollar mail mistake. That is what I call waste. At a time when Congress is struggling to find the dollars needed to fund so many important programs, waste and mismanagement similar to the examples mentioned are unacceptable. Not only do the Department's management deficiencies hurt the taxpayer, but they also take away from the parents and students who legitimately need this aid. The millions lost by the Department's mismanagement might have been used to fund other critical programs such as educating homeless children and youth. This is a program that has not seen so much as a dollar increase for the past few years. Yet the $4 million the Department lost by forgiving loans to the living dead would have gone a long way to helping homeless children across the country to succeed in school. The millions lost by the Department's mismanagement could have been part of the saving of the 1 percent across the board efficiency we are looking for, not the wasteful spending that has occurred. Mr. Speaker, we all understand the difficult funding circumstances under which this Congress and the administration are working. We can begin to ease these problems by working with the Federal agencies to identify and to root out and then correct the problems that waste hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money. While the Federal student loan programs would be a good place to start this process, every other area of spending needs to be looked at as well, which we are doing tonight on several of the issues. But the education of our children is one of our top priorities, if not the top priority, and, as a matter of fact, this side of the aisle is spending $34.8 billion on education in our appropriation bills versus the President's proposal of $34.7 billion. So there will be no cuts to our children's needs. In fact, there will be more money than the President even requested. But we must be ever-vigilant to ensure that there is no fraud, waste and abuse so that we will have the money to spend on those critical programs that are necessary.

Mrs. BIGGERT

Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Maryland (Mrs. Morella).

Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 915) to authorize a cost of living adjustment in the pay of administrative law judges, as amended.

Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H.R. 915, as amended.

Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 915, sponsored by my esteemed colleague the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Gekas). H.R. 915 is a bipartisan bill to reform the process for setting the pay of the Federal Government's administrative law judges, otherwise known as ALJs. The Federal Government employs over 1,400 administrative law judges. Their work is crucial and very important to the Federal Government's operations. ALJs decide important cases, ranging from the Social Security complaints of senior citizens to complex securities litigation. In order to recruit and retain qualified administrative law judges, steps must be taken to ensure their pay remains competitive. Regrettably, circumstances are making this difficult. Each grade and step of the current ALJ pay schedule is rigidly set as a fixed percentage of Level IV of the Executive Schedule. As a result, pay increases for ALJs have lagged behind those of their colleagues under the general schedule or in the Senior Executive Service. This situation creates a disincentive for highly qualified attorneys, both in the Federal Government and in the private sector, to compete and apply for these important positions. The disincentive is particularly acute for private sector attorneys. While they must generally start at the bottom of the ALJ pay scale, government attorneys at least have the option to keep a comparable salary when they become ALJs. By reforming the pay-setting process, H.R. 915 will make ALJ positions more attractive for attorneys across the board. Although the bill retains the current grade and step structure for ALJs, H.R. 915 provides the President with more flexibility to adjust ALJ pay. Rather than link each grade and step to a specific percentage of Level IV of the Executive Schedule, H.R. 915 simply establishes minimum and maximum rates of pay for ALJs. These are the same as the current minimum of 65 percent of Level IV and the current maximum of 100 percent of Level IV. H.R. 915 also authorizes the President to adjust ALJ pay rates below the maximum when employees under the general schedule receive an annual pay adjustment. This mirrors the authority the President now has to adjust the pay of the Senior Executive Service. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have this chance to offer H.R. 915 for consideration by the House. I encourage the support of all Members. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 915 is supported by the administration, the Association of Administrative Law Judges, the Federal Administrative Law Judges Conference, the American Bar Association, and the Federal Bar Association. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 915 is good public policy, and will help attract some of the best and brightest legal minds to serve as administrative law judges. I thank the sponsor of this bill, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Gekas) for his work on this important issue. I also applaud the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings) for his leadership in this legislation. I urge all Members to vote for H.R. 915.

Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. BIGGERT

Mrs. BIGGERT. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to recognize an effort sponsored by the Illinois Drug Education Alliance and others to raise awareness of and unite people against the dangers of illegal drug use. This effort, known as Pray for the Children, is a grassroots movement to keep children drug-free and safe through faith and community involvement. The second annual ``Pray for the Children Weekend'' is this weekend, October 22, 23, and 24. This is a time for people all across the world to take a moment to reflect and pray for children to avoid the pitfalls of illegal drug use. It is also a time for families, religious institutions and political leaders to come together to keep children drug free and safe. We are all aware of the devastating impact illicit drug use has on our society, particularly on young people. Illicit drug use is something we all understand must be addressed and overcome. While saying a prayer is not the sole answer to the drug problem, it is part of a larger solution that demands community involvement and responsibility for one's own actions. I encourage those listening to participate in this effort and urge my colleagues to wear the red ``Pray for the Children'' ribbons that have been sent to their offices. The Ribbons and this campaign symbolize what members of this body and those around the world should be promoting--a zero tolerance for illegal drug use and a commitment to a drug-free lifestyle.